Top 10 Personal Tax Season FAQs

We are beginning our 2016 personal tax return preparation season tomorrow. Although we very much enjoy assisting our clients with the preparation of their personal tax returns, we work long hours at this time of year to do our best to sure everyone’s personal tax return is accurate and filed on time. If we were super heroes we would be “super-organized” – not as exciting as being invisible, but it enables us to get the job done.

“When are my taxes due?”

Although most Canadians have been required to file their personal tax return on April 30th each year (or the next business day if April 30th falls on a weekend) since as long as I can remember, we understand the confusion here as our neighbours to the south have a April 15th personal tax return filing deadline.

The filing due date for 2016 personal tax returns is May 1, 2017 (since April 30th falls on a Sunday this year) unless one of the following applies:

If you or your spouse or common law partner have self-employment business income you have until June 15, 2017 to file your personal tax return.

If you died last year between November 1st and December 31st, the due date for your final return is six months after the date of death.

“I am going on vacation until April 25th. Can I bring all of my personal tax information in on April 26th”?

Yes you can bring your information in but we likely won’t have time to complete it until we return from our holidays. See point 10 below.

“When are my 2016 personal taxes due?”

May 1, 2017, since April 30, 2017 falls on a Sunday, no matter when your filing due date is.

“How do I pay my tax liability?”

I recommend that clients set the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) up as a payee in their online banking, using their social insurance number as the account number, and remit a payment this way.

Not everyone participates in online banking. One of our clients enjoys going directly to a CRA office each year and standing in what he calls the “crying and paying line”. There are several other ways to pay the Canada Revenue Agency. Here is a link to other payment options.

“Do you need all of my tax slips?”

Yes

“My printer is broken.”

We email our clients forms during our personal tax return season that require to be printed, signed and returned. To facilitate this process, now is a good time to give your printer a check-up, replace your printer or find an alternative way to print the documents we send to you. Before you do please see point 8 below.

“I don’t have any toner for my printer.”

Now is a good time to buy some toner. Before you do please see point 8 below.

“My scanner is broken.”

In this crazy hi-tech world we live in, perhaps the need to purchase a separate machine to scan documents is over. There are several apps available for your phone that can receive a document, place your signature on the document and return the document. Tiny Scanner and Tiny Scans are two examples of these apps.